Category: Cape Cod

The Brewster Flats

Cape Cod, My photography, Seascapes and lakescapes

During the second week of our Cape Cod vacation, we stayed in Eastham, Massachusetts on Target View Beach. The beach is on the Brewster Flats, the largest tidal flats in North America, extending 9.7 miles from Brewster to North Eastham. When the tide goes out on the flats, it really goes out. From the high water mark on our beach, we could walk a half mile at low tide before reaching the water’s edge. Here’s a collection of photos I took during our week in Eastham – lot’s of beached boats, but I couldn’t resist.

Target Beach at high tide.
Target Beach at high tide.

The receding tide left all sorts of interesting things in the tide pools and beached on the sand. (Click on an image to see it enlarged.)

The Sandwich Salt Marsh

Cape Cod, Landscapes, My photography, Salt Marsh, Seascapes and lakescapes

We recently spent a couple of weeks on Cape Cod visiting family. That gave me the chance to explore a different type of landscape than we have here in West Michigan. The Cape and West Michigan have much in common, with their sandy shores, dunes, and bodies of water that reach the horizon. But, of course, there are some key differences. Michigan promotes the Great Lakes as “unsalted and shark free,” and the Great Lakes do not have tides.

I was delighted to visit the salt marsh in Sandwich, Massachusetts. The marsh is twice a day flooded by salt water as the tide comes in. I was smitten with the marsh. The rich green of the marsh grasses and the oranges, purples, and magentas of the dawning light created a palette of colors that were hard to resist. I went back several days in a row.

A boardwalk passes through the marsh taking one from the parking lot, over a low dune to the beach on Cape Cod Bay.

Homes and cottages in the town of Sandwich line the shore of Cape Cod Bay and the edges of the marsh.

I was struck by the texture of the marsh grass and the sensuous curves created by the tidal waters as they carved their way through the marsh at high tide.